Survived a motorcycle crash

I was a bike rider, Kawasaki 650 so it wasn't small. I still had 3 near misses. Went over the handlebars twice due to being cut off by a bus and then a car turning left from the middle lane.

The third? Just wet and slipped on one of those bug white arrows on the road as road signs. That was enough and I had kids so I got a car and joined the nerd factory.

I truly don't think most drivers see bikes or acknowledge their right to be on the road. Somehow we are supposed to just disappear.

Look at it this way. You are lucky you didn't die or get maimed for life, right.

Your injuries should heal in time and, if not, the legal system can punish that driver. Financially.

Your anger? Get it out while you can aas letting it add to a growing pile will lead to an irrational act some day when someone does something that just gets up your nose.

DO not play in road rage. I used to and then stopped and found that driving at the speed limit usually left me alone on the road as pack after pack raced past. Much calmer and safer.

I loved riding but it wasn't practical for me in the end. You see I used to ride long distances for fun, like 1000 miles, here in Australia. Unbelievable as those roads had no speed limit then. Darwin to Alice Springs, no limit.

But you should see a doc and get a referral to a therapist so you can talk it out, dig the anger up and spit it on the table so you can see how damaging it is. Then forget it all.

DO you keep riding? It's a matter of can you firstly isn't it. And then do you want to take that risk any more. They just don't see us, the car drivers.

I escaped with just a few cuts, bruises and wounded pride. I was lucky.

You have to think it all through and get rid of those feelings as they are not yours. They belong to that driver.

Thanks your reply was very helpful. Because of the damage to my knees I'm not allowed to ride. I will be making an appointment so I can get rid of all the anger and put it behind me. I know I'm very lucky to still be here.

I will never get why car drivers assume we bikers should just disappear and since the driver that hit me can't provide a decent enough answer I think I'll just give up looking for one.

Ahh, it's the same with cyclists too isn't it? Everybody thinks their vehicle is superior and should own the road.

I see most people in this light OFF the road these days and that built up rage thing? That's me, still. Today. Out in public a minor incident could cause any sort of outcome from me. But I'd be the one to get arrested etc. SO I pick my times and places. If I want to see a movie, I go to the first session of the day. I've even had people annoying in those sessions. SO one day I stood up and stalked up and down the aisle and said loudly. Anyone who doesn't want to see this move, leave now so the rest of us can. Got it?

I didn't feel embarrassed in the slightest, actually got a few claps and it was just watching after that. But I couldn't fo it in a full theatre could I.

Best of luck with recovery, medicine is always getting better.

Hey Survival,

I'm sorry to hear you were hit by a car...motorcycle accidents with head injuries included are sadly all too common. I'm glad to hear that you made it. It's definitely tough for family and friends to have difficulty understanding your anger issues. Try to at least have them be aware of what you're struggling against and the difficulty you have catching yourself in an outburst.

My brother sustained two traumatic brain injuries within a year and a half (had a helmet both times,skateboard accident and hit by a truck on his bicycle, 50/50 chance the first time and 25/75 the second) which basically decimated his frontal lobe and left occipital etc. It has been a year since his last injury and he often struggles with his temper.

If you aren't already physically active consider joining a gym to blow off some steam, the ticket is finding an appropriate outlet for your anger. Hang up a punching bag in your garage and the second you feel something welling up inside, drop everything and punish that bag. If you're out of the house and feel that angry sensation just take a brief walk alone and try to calm yourself down-stress balls work too...if you don't have those, just put some sand in a balloon. I know the hard part is having the foresight to prevent it in the first place but awareness comes first. It's all about sensing the outburst which is a trial in itself.

Things will get better as your brain heals...when did this happen? I've watched my brother improve consistently both times and his mastery at controlling snyde or unnecessary remarks and anger issues overall has definitely improved. The tough part is keeping family close because it is really hard on yourself and those around you.

If you aren't taking medications I would suggest discussing that with a psychiatrist...anti-depressants are a miracle for brain injury victims in the sense that they do elevate your mood in order to make anger issues easier to handle. Like I said, anger is trademark in brain injuries although frontal is much worse-vision and memory sound like the opposite section of brain so you do still have your inhibitions etc.

I hope that some of my advice can help you out. Things will be rough at first but I really hope that your family and friends stick around. Don't give up even though it's a steep hill to climb after getting your wings clipped. Also think long and hard about whether or not you're going to get back on that bike.

Wishing you the best of luck.
-Dan

Hey Dan,

Good of you to give your story here too. It all helps.

Could I point out though that Survival has not mentioned a brain injury as such.

She has ongoing issues with vision and memory amongst other things, both are usual effects of concussion and can take quite some time to recover.

A brain injury is a different catagory all together.

When I read head injury it seemed to correlate with brain injury unless like you said it was only concussion. If she was expected not to make it then it must have been somewhat severe...

I probably shouldn't have made the assumption until I knew more about it. Just tryin to help.

Np problems mate. Just it can be offensive to saee brain injury when there isn't one is all. Just trying to be helpful.

To me brain injury inplies all sorts of things meaning learning to talk walk and so on again. This doesn't seem to be the case hyere.